Former prisoner Elias Morgan, 35, was this week found guilty of murdering prison officer Lenny Scott, 33, outside a gym on February 8 last year.
Lenny Scott, from Prescot, was on Peel Road, Skelmersdale at around 7.35pm on Thursday, February 8 when he was gunned down outside a gym. The 33-year-old was taken to hospital with severe injuries but later died.
An affair between a corrupt prison officer and an inmate was laid bare during the murder trial of a guard who uncovered the relationship.
Former prisoner Elias Morgan, 35, was this week found guilty of murdering prison officer Lenny Scott, 33, outside a gym in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, on February 8 last year.
A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Mr Scott was working as a prison officer at HMP Altcourse in 2020 and recovered a mobile phone in Morgan’s cell on March 26 that year.
Morgan attempted to persuade Mr Scott not to submit the phone as he knew it contained information about an affair he was having with female prison officer Sarah Williams, the CPS said.
Elias Morgan was found guilty of the murder of prison officer Lenny Scott, who was shot in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, last year. Issue date: Photo: Lancashire Police/PA Wire
The trial heard Morgan even offered Mr Scott £1,500 to get rid of the phone, but when that didn’t succeed, he turned to threats – and four years later, he shot the guard six times to his head and body before fleeing the scene on an electric bike.
The Mirror reports during the trial, the relationship between the then-serving prisoner and the working guard was exposed.
As reported by the Liverpool Echo, Williams’ actions began a domino effect, with a court hearing in 2023 how she had relationships with multiple prisoners at HMP Altcourse after starting her job at the prison in early 2020.
The former prison officer, of Kingsway, Widnes, was found to have communicated with prisoners whose mobile phones were recovered in cell searches, with the investigation being referred to the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit’s anti-corruption department. Officers arrested Williams at her home on July 8, 2020.
She was later charged with three counts of misconduct in a public office and one count of causing a computer to perform a function with intent to secure unauthorised access to data.
She appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on December 21 where she was sentenced to 18 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to the four charges.
Williams was found to have had relationships with three prisoners, one of whom was Morgan, with the relationship having ripple effects that lasted years.
The relationship with Morgan was exposed by Mr Scott after he found a phone on his cell – with the device’s possession being a criminal offence itself.
The court heard “Morgan knew there was evidence on it which would lead to the discovery of a sexual relationship between him and a female prison officer,” so he threatened Mr Scott by urging him to “balls up the paperwork” and offering a lucrative bribe.
However, after Mr Scott refused, Morgan began threatening him, saying his “home would be blown up with his family inside.”
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Because of the threats he received, Mr Scott called the police and said he feared for his family’s life, the trial heard. After the iPhone was examined, it revealed “a sexual relationship” between Morgan and Williams.
Morgan was arrested on February 22, 2024, and made no comment during his police interview. He later went on to plead not guilty to murder today, but was yesterday convicted of murdering Mr Scott. He will be sentenced on Tuesday.
A second man, Anthony Cleary, 29, of Smithdown Lane, Liverpool, was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter, the CPS spokesman said.